I can’t say I was surprised I enjoyed Journey to the Center of the Earth, and no, it wasn’t because of the gimmicky 3-D vision. It’s because it’s a relatively fun film. The 3-D does give you a bit of a jump here and there, I’ll admit I jumped at a bunch of bouncing balls and I’ll be damned if those fish don’t give you a start, regardless of whether you are watching it with your horn-rimmed 3-D goggles or not. Yeah, you can catch this one in 3-D or traditional old 2-D and I don’t think you will mind one way or another. The point of it all is that you should have a pretty good time either way.
The premise is simple; you know the Jules Vern novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth”? Well, as it turns out it is not fiction; it’s an actual account of real events. As a series of volcanic events tip off Trevor (Brendan Fraser) that his brother’s disappearance back in 1997 may have in fact been due to his search for the fabled “center of the Earth” he packs up his 13-year-old nephew and they head for Iceland to see it with their own eyes.
Sure enough, they find that Tootsie Roll center of the Earth, and good thing because if they hadn’t the title of this film would be quite lame and a bit of a rip-off. They end up immersed in a world of petrified giant mushrooms, glowing birds, prehistoric fish and a big ol’ T-Rex to balance it all out. Journey is what a PG-rated family film should be, fun and easy to follow. I will say there are a few images that may scare a younger crowd, but for the most part you should be quite safe taking the kiddies, there were a few in my audience and not a frightened peep was uttered.
This film marks one of two summer films for C-lister Brendan Fraser, an actor that never quite made it to the big time due to the fact that he really can’t act (just wait for the crying scene in this one), yet he has enough charisma you give the guy a pass as he plays out big dumb characters on the big screen. Even though Trevor is a scientist in this one, Fraser brings that awkward dopey style to him that you can’t help but laugh a little at him.
Youngster Josh Hutcherson plays the young nephew and once again turns in a pretty good performance following up last year’s Bridge to Terabithia proving he is a young actor to keep an eye on. While it isn’t like he is going to be signing up for the pre-puberty Oscar he may be able to grow from child actor to adult actor without a hitch if he works at it.
The female of the crowd is Anita Briem who plays Hannah, the mountain guide Fraser is fawning over throughout the film, which will lead up to that inevitable kiss you know is coming. I hadn’t seen Briem in anything before, but looking at her credits she appears in the second season of “The Tudors” as Jane Seymour, something I am going to have to look out for once the DVD is released.
Directed by Eric Brevig in his first feature film, the primarily visual effects go to man does a pretty good job his first time around. The film is reasonably paced and with it coming in at just over 90 minutes I can’t really complain one bit. Journey to the Center of the Earth is a good bit of fun and offers up enough action scenes to make it worth a trip to the theater. it won’t change your life, but if you are looking for a quick diversion this will work.
C+
